Ascribe to the LORD, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. – Psalm 29:1-2
Was it easy or hard to come up with the list of obstacles/distractions that detract from worship? I had to confess that “I” am one of the biggest obstacles. When I am not prepared to die to self and let love prevail, worship is impeded.
Before we get to today’s activity, let me highlight another key insight from the 40 Days of Discipline website: The precursor to true worship is being overwhelmed by God’s greatness.
If you have been following all the instructions over the last three days you should have:
• Your list of the attributes of God, which make him worthy of worship
• Your list of attributes about yourself, which compel you to worship God;
• Your list of obstacles/distractions that detract from worship.
Today is about commitment. Examine what you have written down over the last three days and spend some time prayerfully considering what you should commit to changing to make worship more of a priority. Remember that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.
If you feel led, please share your thoughts in the comments section of the blog.
March 27, 2014 at 7:53 am
A friend of mine participating in the 40 Days of Discipline shared with me this very good link on worship. It”s http://www.gci.org/God/worship if you want to visit. To share one thought from it:
There is
worship that involves speaking, and
worship that involves listening, and
a worship that involves doing.
There is a worship that expresses the heart, and worship that involves the mind, and a worship that involves the body. There is a worship that is giving praise upward, a worship that is receiving instructions from above, and a worship that carries out instruction in the world around us.
We need all three types of worship. Some people focus primarily on speaking or singing praise to God. Praise is good, but if all we do is praise God, without ever listening to what he says, we have to ask whether we believe the words we are saying. If he is really all wise and all loving, then we need to be attentive to what he is telling us, because he is worth listening to.
Similarly, all talk and no action does not show God the respect he deserves. Actions speak louder than words, and if our behavior isn’t changed by God, then our actions are saying that God isn’t important — he’s a nice idea, but not relevant to our day-to-day lives. When we really believe that God is worthy of every praise, then we will be willing to listen and to change the way we live in response to such a worthy God. We will trust him and seek him and want to please him as much as we can. Worship should affect our behavior.
March 27, 2014 at 9:46 am
My greatest obstacle to worship is putting “the first things first”. I am easily distracted by work. One priority is finding the right balance.
Terrance
March 27, 2014 at 6:34 pm
I agree ‘I” is often a distraction to worship – I believe this is a human issue
For me I use to try really hard to follow the example of Jesus – I would study the New Testament to learn how HE behaved – before long I became very miserable – because I was simply ‘trying too hard’ – and every time I made a mistake, which was frequently, I would torture myself – one day while I was praying I heard GOD tell me to stop trying so hard – HE asked me to commit to doing one thing and HE would hear me, and HE would do the rest, that is, whatever about me needs changing – (for now I won’t disclose what I committed to doing) – from then on I stopped trying to be ‘perfect.’ ( If perfection were possible we wouldn’t need salvation or GOD’s grace.)
For this reason, in my heart I do not believe GOD requires anything more of me in terms of worship – (at least for now) – it does not mean I can be sloppy – and its no easy task maintaining the commitment I made to HIM.
AMEN.